Rescue Me (Colorado Blues) (2 page)

Gina
saw a property up ahead, its roof peeking out through the trees and wondered if
it was her new home. Before she got a good view of the house, her car missed
and hiccupped. “No no no!” The light on the gas gauge flashed at her and with a
final cough, the car died.

Rory
looked at his watch. If Gina had her timing right, she would be at the ranch
about now. He’d thought about getting her to meet him here in town and decided
the local gossips would have a field day. It was bad enough that he already
caused a stir by coming back to the place of his birth without the wife the
locals knew he’d left with. Telling the tale of her death was hard but a
necessary conversation. The sympathy had been more than he wanted, and being in
the position he was—the new sheriff—it was impossible to be rude and brush
their concerns for his feelings away. They were only trying to be kind after
all.

The
last thing he needed was for the locals to find out he’d decided to follow in
his brother’s footsteps and advertise for a wife rather than the old fashioned
way of picking her using emotions and calculations. Rory didn’t have the heart
to date girl after girl to find one who would appeal to him long after the heat
of passion faded. Someone with family commitments and values the same as his
were more important than that initial shot of lust that could quickly be
snuffed out by any number of reasons. Taking a list of his wants and needs on a
date and getting her to fill in a questionnaire didn’t seem the right thing to
do but this way, it all slotted together without the embarrassment of doing it
face to face.

Gina
had sounded perfect for him. A little shy perhaps, in desperate need of a
change of pace and scenery. She didn’t subscribe to the night clubs and
restaurant scene, preferring to cook at home and create their own unique
memories. Or so she’d said. Everything she filled in was in accordance with
what he wanted out of the rest of his life. Family and home were what he missed
more than anything and he’d do whatever it took to get that back again.

To
test out her commitment, Rory had told her to meet him at the ranch. Her
reaction to the old run down place would give him a good indication of whether
or not she was telling him the truth. If she turned her nose up and ran, so be
it. He’d made a mistake and would have to look again. No loss except perhaps
time.

When
Cindy had thought she was pregnant he’d been over the moon. Considering himself
on the outer edge of fatherhood age, he hadn’t wanted to wait any longer for
his wife to conceive. Gina had expressed her intention of having children too,
so that made her an ideal person for a wife. If it all turned out the way he wanted
it too.

Rory
walked out of the sheriff’s office and climbed into his truck. His pulse was
starting to race and he grinned to himself. He hadn’t felt this way for a long
time—keen and excited to spend time with a woman. Hopeful this day would end on
a happy note, Rory headed to the ranch he’d brought with the prospect of
turning it into a family home.

He
whistled as he turned up the road and kept his eye out for her vehicle. Just
before he came to the ranch corner, he spied a car sitting in the middle of the
road and pulled over. It was laden with boxes and a battered old suitcase. He climbed
out of his truck and walked up to it, wondering what caused the driver to stop
in the middle of the road. There was an empty child’s care seat in the back and
the driver’s door was open, the keys hanging in the ignition. His senses were
on high alert as he scoped the area for clues of a scuffle or forced removal.

Rory
walked back to his truck and drove past the car, taking a note of the
registration plates so he could call it in if he didn’t come across the owner.
When the old cottage came into view, he slowed. A woman in a flowing red skirt
and white blouse was standing at the fence with a child on her hip.

***

With
no option left to her, Gina scooped Fisher out of his car seat and slung her
handbag over her shoulder before she started walking up the dusty road. They
passed overgrown paddocks, their fences broken and twisted wires pulled down
with weeds to lay useless on the ground. The cottage she glimpsed earlier of
came into full view. The garden was a mess, its small fence almost laying back
down on the overgrown lawn. The gate was the most upright part of the structure.
She doubted it would withstand a strong wind.

Gina
caught her breath when she drew close enough to see the cottage properly. What
had looked like brown paint was in fact bare timber. The old white paint had
peeled from most of the wooden boards and lay blown over the porch like stale
confetti flakes. She stood at the gate, tears welling in her eyes as reality
set in.

The
trip over here had been a sham. There was no home to go to; nobody waiting here
to meet her. What had possessed her to take the timbre of a man’s voice as
proof he would be someone she could trust? Desperate times had seemed like she
needed to take desperate measures. She was no longer sure of anything. Now
there was the question of what she was going to do. With a small child, no
money, no gas in her car, and nowhere to go, she was well and truly stuck.

The
sound of a truck pulling up startled her and she wiped a hand across her eyes
before turning around.
The sheriff! Brilliant. Someone had called him to say
I am trespassing. At least a night in jail will come with a meal and a blanket.
I will just have to take it from there.

Gina
squared her shoulders and held onto Fisher as she met the gaze of the man
heading her way. Why couldn’t it have been someone like him that put the ad in
the paper for a wife instead of some loser with a sick since of humor?

“Ma’am,
is that your car down the road?” The sheriff walked up and stopped just in
front of her. She had to look up to see his face when he was this close. The
Stetson shaded his eyes, but she noticed the way her body stood to attention in
his presence.

“Yes,
I’m sorry, I ran out of gas.” She sniffed and turned back to the house,
dreading the line of questioning she was sure he would direct at her.

“Are
you by any chance Ms. Gina Taylor?”

She
whipped her head around and squinted her eyes. That voice! Why hadn’t she
recognized it when he first walked up and spoke to her?

“I’m
Sheriff Rory Watson. You didn’t tell me you had a child though, ma’am, when we
agreed on this deal we have.”

“You
didn’t tell me you lived in a dump either, Sheriff, so I guess that makes us
about even, don’t you think?” Her patience had run out. After the long drive,
running out of gas, and seeing the house she was supposed to live in, she no
longer cared to be polite to this man who’d, in her mind, ripped her off by promising
an easier life and instead delivering a crushing blow.

“Yes,
well I can explain that, I’m not sure how you can explain away a child you
failed to mention.”

“You
know, Sheriff, if I had any choice I would have. But here’s the thing, I needed
something and so did you, otherwise you wouldn’t have put that stupid ad in the
paper. I answered it for better or for worse and now here I am. Ready and
willing to be your wife and look what you have to offer me.” The tears welled
in her eyes again and she turned from him.
This is the worst thing I’ve ever
done in my whole life. Where the heck are we going to sleep tonight? How am I
going to feed my baby?
As reality hit home hard, Gina knew she had no
choice. “I came here to marry you. If I had the money to stay where I was, I
would have done so saving us both the embarrassment of lies and subterfuge.”

“Now
listen here, I haven’t lied to you.”

Gina
could hear the defensive tone rising in his voice. She didn’t care and turned
on him. “Oh yes you did. You told me you had a home and it sure as hell wasn’t
this one. We both lied and I’m sorry about that, but don’t you dare put all the
blame on my shoulders.”

He
glanced at her, swallowed, and turned away.
Don’t send us away just yet,
please give us a chance.
The sheriff appeared to be arguing with himself
and Gina watched the muscles in his back tighten and relax under his shirt. He
turned back to her. “You’re right. We both lied, but that doesn’t make it
right. It’s something we will have to discuss later. Agreed?”

Thankful
for the small reprieve, Gina nodded her head, letting the tension ease from her
shoulders.

 “How
about you come in and have a look around and tell me what you think. We can
make a decision about what we’re going to do when you’ve had the guided tour.”

He
walked through the gate and up the path, waiting for her to follow him inside
the old house. With little option but to do as he suggested, Gina followed with
a wriggling child in her arms. Fisher had had enough of being belted in the car
and held in his mother’s arms and was protesting for a bit of freedom. “Shush,
babe, not much longer and you can play. Be good for Mama.”

The
dark hallway was musty, the only light coming from the open doorway. The sheriff
led her into the front room which was small although adequate with a fireplace
swept out ready for a fire. Old blinds covered the windows at the front and the
side of the room and Gina walked over and lifted one up. “Here let me.” Rory
hurried over and pulled a cord on the side to raise it, letting the light in on
the room. Dust motes flew through the air, dancing like tiny fairies in the
afternoon sunlight.

An
old worn leather couch and armchairs sat facing the fireplace, the dark brown
matching the threadbare carpet on the floor. Spider webs hung from the light
fixtures and Gina smiled when she saw the delicate pink crystal cups holding
the light bulbs. This room was once probably very pretty before someone had let
it go.

Rory
walked out and she followed him into the other front room. An old wrought iron
double bed filled most of the room. The mattress was missing and the springs
looked rusty if not sturdy. A carved wardrobe sat against one wall and a dresser
with missing drawer fronts stood against the other.

“It
gets better.” He smiled as he headed out and entered the kitchen. Green counter
tops caked with years of neglect took up two walls, with a dripping sink under
the kitchen window. A table with wobbly legs sat in the middle of the room with
the remains of someone’s lunch packet screwed up on it. An empty can of soda
caught her eye and she glanced at Rory.

“Yeah,
I forgot to put it in the bin.” He coughed and shrugged his shoulders. “Want to
see the rest?”

“May
as well since I drove two days to get here, don’t you think?” Her anger was
still simmering just under the surface, ready to unleash with a fire she hadn’t
shown for years.

“Right.
In there’s a small bedroom and there’s a bath off of it. Not much I’m afraid.
On a good note, the plumber has promised he’ll have it working by next week.”
Rory opened the door and Gina walked in and poked her head into the bathroom.
The green tub matched the kitchen and she shivered. The toilet was also green
and really had seen better days.

Gina
stepped out and stood with her back against the kitchen counter and waited for
him to say something. When he just stared at her with an indescribable sad look
in his eyes, she spoke. “I think we need to talk now and get this sorted, don’t
you?”

Rory
blinked and nodded his head. “Yeah, guess we do. So you go first. What do you
want to know?” He leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and watched her
struggle for the right words.

“You
told me over the phone you had a ranch were we would live and your photo had a
house behind you but it wasn’t this place. Is this your idea of a joke, because
I don’t think it’s very funny.”

“Are
you saying you wouldn’t live here?”

Gina
chose her words. This really was no worse than what they lived in for the last
couple of years. At least they wouldn’t be sharing the bathroom with another few
families, and she had her own kitchen even if it was out of date and needed a
really good clean. “I could live here. I’ve had worse, far worse in fact. Just
listening to what you said on the phone, I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so
run down though.” She swallowed, hoping she wasn’t sounding too much like a
needy princess. With a bit of elbow grease and some female touches the house
would be very doable, rather nice in fact. It would just take her a while to
get it looking nice.

“So,
you’d live here, especially if the place was cleaner and had a more homely feel
about it?” He pulled a face at Fisher and the baby giggled, hiding his face
against his mother’s neck before peeking out again and laughing.

“Yes,
I would.” It was bigger than the room she’d been living in for the last two
years and it was away from the city. She could make a nice home here for their
little family if only she could convince him they could all make it work.

“You
didn’t tell me you had a child. Why not?”

Heat
washed up her cheeks and she glanced away, fiddling with Fisher’s curls so she
didn’t have to look at him. “I didn’t have any choice. It’s not like I told you
a lie, I just didn’t tell you the whole story. He’s a good baby, never a
problem, I promise. And I meant what I said about wanting a family, more that
is. I’d do it again too, anything for my child. If you were a parent, Sheriff you’d
understand that you’ll always put them first and do anything you can to take
away the pain life can inflict on them.” Tears filled her eyes at the thought
of him turning them out.